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SACRAMENTO (AP) - The state will drop all charges against the only former Davis administration official criminally prosecuted as a result of the state's since-rescinded six-year, $95 million no-bid contract with Oracle Corp. nearly two years ago. Former Gov. Gray Davis' policy director, Kari Dohn, was charged in March with 12 felonies alleging she altered evidence during the subsequent investigation into the contract. But two newly assigned prosecutors and veteran criminal attorneys reviewed the case and decided there wasn't enough evidence, Attorney General Bill Lockyer said Tuesday. "Upon further review, the insufficiency of the evidence has persuaded me that it...

SACRAMENTO--Assemblyman Dean Florez said Tuesday he is not worried that his scathing indictment of incompetence by officials of Gov. Gray Davis' administration in the Oracle computer scandal will bring retribution from the governor. A spokeswoman for the governor said Davis does not engage in "petty politics," such as refusing to sign bills by lawmakers who criticize him. But the episode left many people wondering how Florez, a Democrat from Shafter, will fare in Sacramento now that he has cemented a reputation as a maverick who doesn't hesitate to investigate and publicly criticize leaders of his own party. As the...

SACRAMENTO -- Politicians and their aides are convinced the state Capitol is crawling with FBI agents in the aftermath of the Oracle debacle and amid insinuations of policy for sale in the governor's office. Assembly Democrats were warned in a closed-door meeting last week to avoid any appearance of a link between fund raising and lawmaking, because "someone is sniffing around the building," one lawmaker said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The caucus's counsel reminded members that "even the implication" of a connection between a policy discussion and campaign fund raising could lead to serious legal trouble, the lawmaker said....

Probe: Pair testify they were not advised of key facts or concerns before they cleared the way for the costly software deal. By DAN MORAIN and NANCY VOGEL, TIMES STAFF WRITERS SACRAMENTO -- Top aides to Gov. Gray Davis testified Tuesday that they were either misled by their underlings or couldn't recall details of events leading up to the administration's decision to sign an embarrassing $95-million software contract with Oracle Corp. and a Northrop Grumman subsidiary. Also Tuesday, Oracle avoided a legislative subpoena by agreeing that five employees, including the son of state Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles), will testify...

By Jonathan Wilcox Where's trouble in the River City, as Sacramento calls itself. I don't mean just "politics as usual" trouble. No, the current scandal involving software mega-corporation Oracle and California's mini-Governor Gray Davis is anything but business as usual, and it has all the makings of the best kind of mystery novel — one with true crime. At first glance, it looks like the everyday I-give-you-cash-contribution-you-give-me-something-I-want story. Yawn. The Davis administration contracted to buy $95 million worth of computer software from Oracle, and within days an Oracle lobbyist handed a $25,000 campaign donation to a Davis aide who had...

update Oracle came out swinging Tuesday, disputing claims that it sold the state of California more software than it needed--and warning that if that state cancels a $95 million contract, it could create problems for agencies already using the software. "Nearly 50 California state and local agencies have already used the new contract," Oracle Chief Financial Officer Jeff Henley said in a statement. The contract gave agencies a volume discount on the price of the software, he said. "If the state elects to withdraw from this contract, these savings will be lost." The $95 million deal is all but...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SANTA BARBARA - Gubernatorial nominee Bill Simon today delivered the following remarks to reporters during a media availability in Santa Barbara: "Thank you all for coming. I am traveling in Santa Barbara today on my campaign to unseat Gray Davis, and to restore leadership and integrity to the office of the Chief Executive of California. The needs of working Californians require that the incompetent and possibly corrupt administration of Gray Davis be voted out of office. "The quality of our schools, roads, and cities has not kept pace with the economic boom that occurred in the mid...

<p>California Gov. Gray Davis is negotiating with Oracle Corp. about rescinding a controversial $95 million software contract with the state. But it won't be easy to unwind the deal or assess the potential impact on the company's finances.</p> <p>The six-year software deal, signed without competitive bidding in May 2001, has turned into an imbroglio that has led to the resignation of two state officials, a probe of potential document shredding and fears for Gov. Davis's re-election bid later this year. Besides issues about the cost and need for Oracle's software, Republican opponents are raising questions about the timing of a $25,000 political contribution from the company to the Democratic governor. Gov. Davis, who is backing an investigation by California's attorney general, denied knowledge of the deal and said there was no connection with the donation.</p>

CAPITOL JOURNAL The Oracle Debacle Coulda, Shoulda Been Prevented Coulda, shoulda: If Gov. Gray Davis' Cabinet minions had heeded his incessant lecturing, they would have avoided the state's embarrassing software scandal. Davis' lecture goes like this: When somebody says you must act now, that's when you freeze. Beware. Be skeptical. Or, as Cabinet Secretary Susan Kennedy puts it: "If somebody comes to you and says, 'I need something and it has to be right now,' the answer is 'No.' "Where I failed was, I broke the cardinal rule." Kennedy added the final, crucial signature on a "governor's action request"...

Davis aides start talks with Oracle to drop contract By Ray Locker ASSOCIATED PRESS May 6, 2002 SACRAMENTO – The state's finance director began talks with Oracle Corp. Monday to discuss killing the state contract auditors called wasteful, an administration spokesman said. Finance Director Tim Gage will meet this week with Oracle executives to negotiate an end to the state's six-year, $95 million, no-bid contract to buy and administer database management software from Oracle, said Steve Maviglio, press secretary for Gov. Gray Davis. The talks could take up to two weeks, Maviglio said. Poll shows high disapproval numbers for...

Official Describes Rush to OK $95-Million Oracle Pact Probe: Testimony comes on first day of hearings on deal, approved with little study, no bidding. ... Cynthia Curry, a top attorney for the Department of General Services, one of the state agencies that approved the deal, told lawmakers that she was given the full Oracle contract to review the day it was signed, and was so concerned about it that she went over the head of her boss to complain. After the deal was signed, she recalled, General Services Director Barry Keene got a call from Gov. Gray Davis' Cabinet...

<p>A $95 million state software no-bid contract is the center of controversy.</p> <p>SACRAMENTO – Lawmakers probing Oracle Corp.'s $95 million state software contract zeroed in on two key Davis administration officials Saturday as the Senate prepared to approve twice-vetoed legislation that would close a major loophole in California's high-tech contracting.</p>

<p>Wide-ranging investigations into the state's $95 million computer software contract with Oracle Corp. began focusing Friday on the role of Logicon Inc., which brokered the suspect deal.</p> <p>Attorney General Bill Lockyer said he was zeroing in on the role of the Virginia-based information technology company, which served as consultant to the state and stands to collect as much as $28.5 million from the Oracle contract.</p>

<p>Sacramento -- In its first detailed response to a scathing state audit of a controversial software contract, Oracle Corp. said Friday that auditors had failed to calculate savings of up to $163 million over 10 years.</p> <p>"We've demonstrated that this is a fabulous value proposition for the state, " said Ken Glueck, vice president for government relations for Oracle.</p>

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gray Davis scrambled yesterday to contain a computer software scandal that threatens to become a dominant issue in his re-election campaign. The governor said his administration has opened talks to scrap a $95 million contract with Oracle Corp., which he insisted was approved without his knowledge. He also took credit for removing three state officials who promoted or signed off on the much-criticized deal. "I had no idea this contract was being negotiated," Davis told reporters. "I think most of you know I'm barely on the information on-ramp, much less proficient in technology. So this is...

"Email Traffic Would Indicate the Governor Himself May Have Been Aware of the Oracle Coutract" SANTA MONICA - This morning Republican gubernatorial nominee Bill Simon made the following statements concerning the Oracle scandal currently engulfing the governor's office: "Yesterday, I voiced my grave concern about published reports that Governor Gray Davis' Administration was actively attempting to suppress a legislative investigation of the $95 million Oracle software scandal."After reading this morning's Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee, and virtually every newspaper in the state, my concern has turned to shock. I am greatly saddened at the revelations that a high-ranking Davis Administration...

<p>SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Gray Davis, under fire for his administration's approval of a $95 million no-bid software contract that could cost taxpayers an extra $41 million, said Friday that he wants to toss out the deal with Oracle Corp.</p> <p>"We are working closely with the attorney general and negotiators to try and rescind this contract," Davis said.</p>